EUGENE, Ore. — Even before things went sideways in the spring game, Oregon special teams coordinator Joe Lorig understood the hole in the roster. With Luke Dunne, last year’s No. 2 punter, transferring, finding a second punter would be a necessity.
Ross James’ poor showing in April impressed that need even more, with head coach Dan Lanning quipping about that need following the scrimmage’s conclusion. Lorig conveyed to James, the school record-holder in punt average, and the rest of the specialists that an addition would be coming, and that it would be a serious challenger.
“I was very up front with all of them,” Lorig said. “At the end of spring ball, it’s protocol for every position on our team to meet with their position coach. So I met with everybody and made it clear, Ross included, that we were going to bring in a guy, and that I was going to go find the very best guy that I could in the country. There wasn’t any miscommunication there. They all expected it.”…